Nicolas Badel, Petite Roche, Syrah, Collines Rhodaniennes, France 2019

Nicolas Badel trained as an engineer before deciding that winemaking was where his heart belonged. Nicolas returned to school and studied viticulture, spending many years working in the vineyards of other producers. In 1999, he acquired his vineyards in Saint-Joseph and Condrieu near the town of Limony and began by selling his wine to the local cooperative. It wasn’t until 2010 that he finally started bottling wine under his own name from his own eight hectares, which says a lot about Nicolas. He is not one to rush anything; instead, he is a steadfast perfectionist who prefers to take his time and do things the right way. 

Nicolas Badel’s farming has been certified organic since the very beginning and he is now in the process of carefully working biodynamics into his vineyards, with the intent of making the finest wines possible from his terroir. His labels feature a reproduction of the Roman coins from 75 BC that were found in the Intuition vineyard (along with other artifacts) during planting, evidence of the historic precedence of his vineyards.

The small winery is located near Vernosc-lès-Annonay, on the plateau above the Cance valley, a tributary of the Rhône. On a hillside called Les Grandes Vignes next to the winery, Nicolas has reclaimed 2.5 hectares of vines at 350m on sandy granitic soils with full southern exposure, from which he makes his wine called Intuition. The vineyard is planted mostly to Syrah, but also some Marsanne and Viognier within a natural clos, which is secluded within a forest, untouched by other vineyards. Nicolas calls the naturally beautiful area very ‘sauvage’. The granite here is very sandy, which allows for excellent drainage and root penetration. This soil is relatively easy to work as well, all of which make it ideal for Syrah. Exposure is full south, protected from the cold northerly winds.

Petite Roche is Badel’s fresh and easy-to-drink cuvée from young vines in his wild, high-altitude Rochegrand vineyard at 350m. Aging is in cement to preserve the identity of the Syrah grapes grown in granitic soil without wine making tricks. Petite Roche is a very fresh, fruit-forward expression of Syrah with all of the signature peppery-dark fruit and drinkability one expects, with an unexpected extra refinement from his exceptional farming. A wine for pure pleasure.